Casting has been announced for a vibrant new adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, The Comedy of Errors, in a co-production between Prescot’s Shakespeare North Playhouse and Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Valerie Antwi, Andy Cryer, Claire Eden, David (and Peter) Kirkbride, Alyce Liburd, Oliver (and Zack) Mawdsley and Ida Regan will join director Paul Robinson in the rehearsal room next week to start work on a new version of Shakespeare’s most bonkers farce, ‘messed around with’ by Nick Lane and Elizabeth Godber: The Comedy of Errors (more or less).

The show is designed by Jessica Curtis, with composition and sound design by Simon Slater, lighting by Chuma Emembolu, musical direction by Alex Weatherhill, movement direction and choreography by Wayne Parsons, and casting by Sarah Hughes CDG.

Two rival states. Two sets of mismatched twins. One nutty day at the seaside. An actor from Lancashire arrives in a Yorkshire coastal town to perform his 'magnificent' one-man show. Trouble is, there's no audience – everyone's booked for a talent show across town starring the twin brother he's never met.

His twin brother owes money all over town, has promised his wife a gold chain and is banking on winning the talent show to avoid getting in trouble with some unsavoury characters...

Will the twins discover each other? Will they learn how they became separated? Will either show go on at all?

The Comedy of Errors (more or less) will be an unforgettable night at the theatre as Shakespeare's most bonkers farce is brought to life in the 1980s. Expect mistaken identity, theatrical chaos and belting musical numbers in the era of big phones and even bigger shoulder pads!

Director Paul Robinson, who is Artistic Director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, said: “We can’t wait to get started on this hilarious and anarchic new version of Shakespeare’s craziest show, full of mistaken identity and non-stop twists and turns. We’re loving working with the brilliant new Shakespeare North Playhouse, and our writers Elizabeth Godber and Nick Lane have paid tribute to the two venues by creating characters from the two towns, and setting the show in Scarborough in the vibrant, neon-lit 1980s!”

The Comedy of Errors (more or less) can be seen at Shakespeare North Playhouse from 3-25 March, and at the Stephen Joseph Theatre from 30 March-15 April.